Tapeheads
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| Tapeheads | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Bill Fishman |
| Produced by | Peter McCarthy Michael Nesmith |
| Written by | Bill Fishman Peter McCarthy |
| Starring | John Cusack Tim Robbins Mary Crosby |
| Music by | Fishbone |
| Cinematography | Bojan Bazelli |
| Distributed by | Avenue Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 21, 1988 |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country |  |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10,000 |
| Gross revenue | $343,786 |
| IMDb profile | |
Tapeheads is a 1988 comedy film directed by Bill Fishman. The film features John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Sam Moore, and Junior Walker. There are also a number of cameos including "Weird Al" Yankovic, Don Cornelius, Zander Schloss, Martha Quinn, Ted Nugent, Jello Biafra, Connie Stevens, Courtney Love, and the bands Fishbone and The Lords of the New Church. A song by Devo is performed, but other actors portray them. The movie was produced by Michael Nesmith who has a brief cameo role in the film as a bottled water delivery worker.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story follows the strange adventures of the fast-talking Ivan Alexeev (John Cusack) and tech-whiz Josh Tager (Tim Robbins) as disgruntled Los Angeles Generation Xers, who, after losing their menial jobs as corporate security guards, start their own video production company, Video Aces, as part of their quest to make a music video for their childhood heroes, the '70s soul duo - The Swanky Modes (Sam Moore and Junior Walker) but not before suffering the usual early professional setbacks, like not being paid for their work shooting videos of garden parties, obscure pop bands and funerals and being hustled by shady video producer Moe Fuzz (Don Cornelius). The movie also features a fake ad spot for a real Los Angeles restaurant, Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles. Veteran actor Clu Gulager costars as a wacky yet powerful Senator and presidential candidate who, as Ivan and Josh soon discover, has plenty of skeletons hidden in his closet.
[edit] Cast
- John Cusack as Ivan Alexeev
- Tim Robbins as Josh Tager
- Mary Crosby as Samantha Gregory
- Clu Gulager as Senator Norman Mart
- Katy Boyer as Belinda Mart
- Jessica Walter as Kay Mart
- Sam Moore as Billy Diamond
- Junior Walker as Lester Diamond
- Susan Tyrrell as Nikki Morton
- Lee Arenberg as Norton
- Xander Berkeley as Ricky Fell
- "Weird Al" Yankovic as Himself
- Don Cornelius as Mo Fuzz
- King Cotton as Roscoe
- Zander Schloss as Heavy Metal Fan
- Martha C. Quinn as RVTV-JV
- Ted Nugent as Rock Star
- Jello Biafra as FBI Man
- Connie Stevens as June Tager
- Courtney Love (uncredited) as Norman's Spanker
- Stiv Bators as Dick Slammer
- Jack Cheese as Don Druzel
- David Anthony Higgins as Visual Aplomb
- Michael Nesmith as Water Man
- Jennifer Balgobin as Calypso Dancer
- Sy Richardson as Bartender
[edit] Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack (but not the soundtrack album) includes the song "Repave America" written and performed by Tim Robbins, credited as Bob Roberts four years before that movie was released. "Repave America" also appeared in the Bob Roberts soundtrack with the lyrics slightly altered to become "Retake America".
